Review roundup: HP TouchPad billed as 'mediocre tablet'

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  • Reply 61 of 111
    rasimorasimo Posts: 61member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Curmudgeon View Post


    Somebody has to explain to me the fascination with a rear-facing camera on a tablet. Is anybody really going to carry around this dinner plate to snap photos?



    Augmented reality and FaceTime are good uses of a rear-facing camera on an iPad.
  • Reply 62 of 111
    mac voyermac voyer Posts: 1,294member
    A few thought:



    HP is getting compared to the iPad and found wanting, in part because they publicly said that they were going to be better than #1. They were going to be #1+. Add that to the stupid things they have said about themselves in comparison to Apple over the last few months, and you get the harsh criticism of the TP. HP sowed the wind, and is now, reaping the whirlwind. No one learns.



    If HP had come out with the Xoom, or Gtab firmly in their sights, they might have been reviewed more favorably. But no, they, along with everyone else, seems to have an  fetish. When the reviews finally come out, WebOS fans say it is unfair to compare the TP to the iP2.



    Lest we forget, the original iPad launched with 5,000 apps written specifically for the device. It is very fair to note the lack of apps, and thus, developer interest in the product at launch.



    Finally, why is the iPad succeeding where everyone else is failing? One, there is no tablet market, and never has been. People are not buying tablets; they are buying iPads. Competitors cannot make iPads; they can only make brand X tablets. When SJ introduced the iPad, he spent a long time laying out the justification for the iPad's existence. He said that if it could not provide a superior experience in those areas, it has no reason to exist. Every tablet since has no justification to exist other than the fact that the iPad exists, and everyone else just wants a piece of it.
  • Reply 63 of 111
    island hermitisland hermit Posts: 6,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Curmudgeon View Post


    Somebody has to explain to me the fascination with a rear-facing camera on a tablet. Is anybody really going to carry around this dinner plate to snap photos?



    It's better than not having it there... convenience, that's all... and convenience to me is what it's all about. Just one snap a week makes it worthwhile to me.
  • Reply 64 of 111
    island hermitisland hermit Posts: 6,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mac Voyer View Post


    Finally, why is the iPad succeeding where everyone else is failing? One, there is no tablet market, and never has been. People are not buying tablets; they are buying iPads. Competitors cannot make iPads; they can only make brand X tablets. When SJ introduced the iPad, he spent a long time laying out the justification for the iPad's existence. He said that if it could not provide a superior experience in those areas, it has no reason to exist. Every tablet since has no justification to exist other than the fact that the iPad exists, and everyone else just wants a piece of it.





    It's not too often that you find innovators in charge of a company... that's where Apple differs from most companies. Usually you find sales guys or number crunchers. With no real vision they usually have a "me too" attitude... copiers. Anyone with any brains would have cooked their product for a much longer time and really brought something worthy to the table, because, in my mind, there is a tablet space... tablets are here to stay and their potential will be realized and their market will grow. With more innovation some of these manufacturers could bring a product to market that will be successful... but to trip over each other trying to be first to market is embarrassing.
  • Reply 65 of 111
    firefly7475firefly7475 Posts: 1,502member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mac.World View Post


    You "assume" a Windows 8 tablet will be out before 2013. I think you are being quite optimistic.



    I didn't get the implied time frames



    In any case I'm happy to do a 12 month signature bet with you! Basically, a Windows 8 tablet (or slate or whatever they call it) comes out before 2013 and I win... one doesn't come out and you win.



    The winner gets to choose the losers signature for the next 12 months (within AppleInsider TOS of course!)
  • Reply 66 of 111
    It does sound rather mediocre from the reviews...



    ... but ...



    I'd KILL to have a number row above the iPad keyboard and/or adjustable key heights! I've been wanting that since I got an iPad 1 on launch day.
  • Reply 67 of 111
    I'm sad to hear that the hardware is so lacking. HP has exactly one chance to get this launched, and going in with problems like this seems like death.



    Which is too bad, because from the little I used it, webOS is a much better OS than iOS. And I say that as someone with an all-Mac house.



    The "cards" idea is simply brilliant, and I found it way easier to move around the system than on the iPhone or iPad. And the federated address book is precisely what I've been trying to get my iPhone to do since day one.
  • Reply 68 of 111
    rhyderhyde Posts: 294member
    If amateur hour is over, this must be "open mic night".

  • Reply 69 of 111
    hattighattig Posts: 860member
    It's a shame. Ars Technica liked it though - although still second to the iPad and thus because of its pricing the iPad still wins.



    I think it has a lot of promise, but it's still a year of solid software engineering away from matching the current iPad 2 in terms of features, software. Let's not even think about how many years away having 100,000 apps on the app catalog will be.



    However the devices App Catalog got a lot of praise from Ars, especially the in-store magazine idea.



    If it wasn't for HP I'd be interested, but I've been burnt one too many times by their dodgy hardware.
  • Reply 70 of 111
    hattighattig Posts: 860member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cloudgazer View Post


    I'm kinda assuming that nobody bought the dell streak



    I know someone with one, and they like it.



    Android 3.2 is meant to the the version of Android that is enhanced for 7" tablets (with 3.0 the one for 10" tablets), so the Android based tablets will only get better.



    HP look to be licensing WebOS as well, so that should increase their marketshare if a decent designer licenses it. In addition I am sure that they will soon start including it on some PC lines even if it requires a touchscreen on the device. Palm on its own would be nearly, if not completely, dead by now, so I'm glad the software has a chance to become something.



    RIM ... well, never mind.



    Windows 8 for tablets. Let me know when it's available.
  • Reply 71 of 111
    mac.worldmac.world Posts: 340member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Curmudgeon View Post


    Somebody has to explain to me the fascination with a rear-facing camera on a tablet. Is anybody really going to carry around this dinner plate to snap photos?



    Lately i have been using the rear camera on my ipad to scan documents. There are uses other than taking personal photo's for a rear camera.
  • Reply 72 of 111
    mac.worldmac.world Posts: 340member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Firefly7475 View Post


    I didn't get the implied time frames



    In any case I'm happy to do a 12 month signature bet with you! Basically, a Windows 8 tablet (or slate or whatever they call it) comes out before 2013 and I win... one doesn't come out and you win.



    The winner gets to choose the losers signature for the next 12 months (within AppleInsider TOS of course!)



    It's entirely possible that Microsoft could get a tablet out before Q4 2012, but based on previous mobile device entries, I doubt it. You can pick my sig though if M$ does get a tablet into consumer channels prior to 2013.
  • Reply 73 of 111
    cloudgazercloudgazer Posts: 2,161member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by island hermit View Post


    Huh??!!



    I must be missing something here.



    3% of what?



    3 % of android devices connecting to the google market over some period around june 1st
  • Reply 74 of 111
    firefly7475firefly7475 Posts: 1,502member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mac.World View Post


    It's entirely possible that Microsoft could get a tablet out before Q4 2012, but based on previous mobile device entries, I doubt it. You can pick my sig though if M$ does get a tablet into consumer channels prior to 2013.



    Sweet! That just made it more interesting!!



    Their tablets are Windows, not Windows Phone, so I'm not sure of the influence the mobile division has over the Windows 8 release date. I definitely don't think they will be selling tablets exclusively through the mobile carriers like phones.



    Sinofsky is in charge and that dude is a machine. I don't think he has ever missed a release date.



    I think they will stick to the Windows 7 release schedule. Private beta will be end of this year, public beta will be early next year (Jan/Feb), RTM will be July and retail will be Oct/Nov.



    The main problem is remembering the bet!
  • Reply 75 of 111
    john galtjohn galt Posts: 960member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jacksons View Post


    OMG Walt Mossberg didn't like a non iProduct!? Really? I can't beleive it. Oh wait...



    Apple?s MobileMe Is Far Too Flawed To Be Reliable - Walt Mossberg
  • Reply 76 of 111
    ssquirrelssquirrel Posts: 1,196member
    Arstechnica gave a pretty positive review of it actually and they're regularly accused of being Apple fanboys heh. I'd still rather wait for an iPad 3 to get a tablet for myself. I'll just use my wife's iPad 1 till then



    http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/revie...pad-review.ars
  • Reply 77 of 111
    macrulezmacrulez Posts: 2,455member
    deleted
  • Reply 78 of 111
    cloudgazercloudgazer Posts: 2,161member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SSquirrel View Post


    Arstechnica gave a pretty positive review of it actually and they're regularly accused of being Apple fanboys heh. I'd still rather wait for an iPad 3 to get a tablet for myself. I'll just use my wife's iPad 1 till then



    http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/revie...pad-review.ars



    They say at the end that the only reason to buy it is if you hate apple, they say it with a euphemism, but they say it nevertheless. That's not really a good review.



    just like those Android tablets, its hard to recommend over an iPad at the same price. But the competition does creep ever closer, and the TouchPad stands as a solid iPad competitor for those who, err, "think different."
  • Reply 79 of 111
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by astrosmash View Post


    Here we are at version 3 of WebOS, on its fastest hardware yet, and it's still slow, buggy, and power hungry.



    The UI is pretty, as usual, but it's still a mess under the surface.



    WebOS was a hail mary attempt from Palm; after years of trying to develop the next generation Palm OS they whipped together "WebOS" from a Linux kernel and WebKit in only a matter of months, and it appears there are serious architectural problems as a result. I'll be surprised if there are any WebOS devices in the market in a few years. Its flaws are just too deep.



    The problem isn't necessarily webOS but that HP bought it. Since when did HP know how to optimize software, their software & drivers are horrible crap.
  • Reply 80 of 111
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacRulez View Post


    You had to go back three years to find one?



    Maybe there's a second one from 2005....



    Apple's track record of turning out amazing products is just that good. Is it really Moss' fault Apple is awesome?



    Don't worry, there are plenty of Google biased & MS biased reviewers out there that have been giving the iPad horrible reviews for a while now, the Universe balances itself.
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